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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24628015">The One Where Alex Danvers Gets to Second Base with Herself</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/dyano86/pseuds/dyano86'>dyano86</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Supergirl (TV 2015)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alex is single in this one, Alone in the Apartment, An Evening to Herself, Autoromantic, Autosexual, Clones, Could be set at any point in time, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Romance, F/F, Self Confidence, Self-Acceptance, Self-Discovery, Self-Doubt, Self-Love, Self-cest, The DEO | Department of Extra-Normal Operations, accidental duplication</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-09</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 00:22:24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,787</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24628015</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/dyano86/pseuds/dyano86</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>An accident at the DEO leaves Alex Danvers suddenly and inexplicably... cloned. When it turns out that both women have claim to being the real Alex Danvers, the women are forced to coexist for an evening and sort out their differences.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Alex Danvers/Alex Danvers</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Her ears rang violently as the world spun around and around in a spiral, the air filled with ash and smoke and screams in every direction. An explosion at the DEO was, sadly, not out of the ordinary — one of this magnitude, though, and with a bizarre alien artifact at the epicenter...well, that was enough to make anyone worried.</p><p></p><div>
  <p>Especially Alex Danvers.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The pain in her chest was excruciating, she must have taken a nearly direct hit from the concussive blast. Her eyes opened slowly to the blurry, distorted room around her, but instantly her attention turned to the myriad of bodies scattered across the floor.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Her voice was hoarse, but the words soon came to her. "Kara... J'onn..." She tried to stand, but stumbled forward onto her knees, soon realizing that she might need a few minutes to gather herself before trying to take control of the situation. Despite the disorientation, a rush of adrenaline at least kept her senses afloat. As she looked across the floor, her eyes still squinting to see through the haze, she found solace in seeing all the other bodies similarly standing up, or at least wincing in pain — luckily there seemed to be no casualties. Once she was able to stand, Alex pivoted around to scan the remainder of the room behind her. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Her first thought would, upon reflection later, would seem woefully misguided and ill-informed. Alex found herself pondering how a mirror, of all things, survived the blast.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>It took just a handful of seconds though for that thought to evolve, and for the realization to soon dawn on her dizzied mind. At first it had seemed like a reflection, this form that stood before her, a mirror image of herself also struggling to her feet and covered in dust and debris just as Alex was. The face, hair, body, all looked identical to Alex in every way. But as the situation became clearer, second by second, Alex found herself understanding the puzzling truth.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>This wasn't a reflection. This was a clone.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"What..." They both asked at the same moment, in the same voice, as their mirrored expressions turned from bewilderment to fear. "Kara!" Again, in tandem, they shouted — two identical woman struck at the realization that this alien explosion caused far more damage than simply a disruption in DOE infrastructure.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Alex readied herself for action, nearly reaching for her sidearm to apprehend this alien doppelgänger, before she felt the jolt of a taser impact her shoulder blade. As she fell to the floor, crippled by pain, watching the world become cloudy and dark before blacking out, the final vision before her eyes was her exact double collapsing in tandem on the ground before her. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>- - -</p>
</div><div>
  <p>When Alex awoke, she was resting in the infirmary, her arms and legs strapped to a gurney. Nobody — neither friend nor doppelgänger — was in sight. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>"What — the — hell," she tried to force herself free from the restraints at each word, "Is — going — ON?" Useless, but Alex Danvers wasn't one to let herself be taken captive in her own Department. "Help! What's happening?! I DEMAND TO KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON!"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>It just took a matter of seconds for the doors to open and for Kara to walk inside. She didn't speak.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Please," Alex feigned a calm disposition, "Please tell me why I'm strapped to this bed. And..." She took a breath, "What happened after the explosion? Is everyone alright?"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Kara stepped forward towards Alex. "No casualties, and just a handful of injuries. We're lucky, it could have been much worse."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Alex stared at her, trying to find the right words for the circumstance. "Anything else worth noting?"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Kara half-smiled. "Yes," she said softly, "That's certainly the case." Alex was hoping that at this point, she'd be released from the bed and escorted to a room for debriefing, but after a few moments with Kara standing before her and no sign of being released, she realized the situation was more fraught than she had hoped. "The alien device had a side effect, but only you were caught close-enough in the radius. It created a...duplicate."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Alex winced at that word. She had thought as much, given her realization earlier, but had hoped it was simply a trauma-induced hallucination. If only she'd been so lucky.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Well," Alex tried to remain calm, "I'm glad you've come to speak to me first. We absolutely cannot trust this duplicate, however she – it – was created. Kara that <em>thing</em> could easily be an alien spy sent to kill us off, we need to take extreme precaution but I can't help from a hospital bed. Can you let me go?"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Kara just stood still. "Alex, I already spoke to her."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Supergirl, no!" Alex lashed at the restraints, but the effort was fruitless. "Do NOT trust it! I'm the real Alex, I swear on my life, do not believe what she said."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Supergirl said nothing.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"How could you do this? How can you not trust me? After all we've been through, please!" Alex felt the tears forming in her eyes. "How could you speak to her first? How could you?" Was it simply by sheer chance that the duplicate woke already and was able to speak with Kara first? Did she put on such a convincing act that she managed to turn the whole DEO against the real Alex already?</p>
</div><div>
  <p>But... No, that would be too reckless. Kara and J'onn would have devised a more clever method to determine which Alex was real.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Slowly, as she collected her wits, Alex realized the truth. "No, you wouldn't have made it so clear that either one of us was examined first..." She looked Kara in the eyes, trying to see where the truth lied. "You just told me that was the case to see how I'd respond. And you can put her through the same test... To compare how we react to the same controlled situation."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Kara didn't smile, but in her expression, Alex saw the telltale signs of understanding. "I'll update you on our results later," Kara whispered, before turning to leave the room.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>- - -</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The hours continued to pass. Alex was subjected to test after test throughout the afternoon — brain scans, cognitive evaluations, blood samples, and several more cryptic visits from Kara hoping to detect the faintest inflections in Alex's behavior.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>And all the while, Alex couldn't help but grow furious that the DEO couldn't tell her apart from an alien impostor. Did they really need to exhaust dozens of trials and examinations to prove that she was who she claimed to be?</p>
</div><div>
  <p>But slowly, she began to ponder a terrible alternative — what if she <em>was</em> the clone? What if the other Alex, presumably kept down the hall, was in fact authentic. Maybe the alien device was so perfectly designed that the imposter <em>wouldn't know</em> it was an imposter. Even considering the notion that she'd be an alien duplicate made her head spin.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>By the early evening, Alex was finally released from the restraints. A low-level DEO operative escorted her down the hallway to a separate laboratory. Finally, she'd get some answers.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>As the door swung open, Alex stepped into a room where Kara and J'onn were waiting, along with someone else. Another Alex.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"What is she doing here?!" The shout came in perfect stereo, both Alex's raising a hand to point at the other, recoiling away out of shock.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Stop, both of you," Kara spoke sternly but softly. "Please, just listen before you overreact."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Alex waited. Both of her.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>J'onn tossed a stack of papers onto the table. "Alex, we've run every possible test in the book, including a few new ones developed just for this occasion. Believe it or not," his eyes moved from one Alex to the other, "As far as we can tell, you are both Alex Danvers, truly."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Silence.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"How—" they both spoke at once. This was going to get real old, real fast. "You go first," said the Alex by the doorway. She didn't like conceding her voice, but somebody had to break the synchronicity.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Thanks," the other Alex nodded, shyly. "How is that possible, J'onn? We can't both be the real one."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Kara spoke up this time. "We didn't believe it either, which is why we needed to be so exhaustive with the testing. What we've concluded is that the device didn't impersonate you, it genuinely split you into two perfect copies. You both have claim to being the real Alex Danvers."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Alex found herself staring at her double, this other woman who was seemingly just as "real" as she was. Physically, that was certainly the case. All her clothes, including the scuffs and dusting from the explosion, were mimicked in their entirety. Her face had all the same features, her eyes had the exact same shade of hazel.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>At that moment, Alex realized she and her clone were, in fact, staring intently into each other's eyes for the first time. It was hard to break away — like looking into a mirror, but one that breathed slightly out of sync.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"So what now," asked the Alex in the doorway. "We can't stay this way."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"I agree," said the other woman. "Naturally."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Well," J'onn shrugged, "Some of our techs think they can reverse the process with the device, but studying it will take time. And because you're both Alex, we felt it was wrong to keep you restrained for any longer. If you'd like, you can go home for the evening and we'll resume this tomorrow. Kara seemed to think you could use some rest after today."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Where will she go?" One Alex asked the question before the other could muster the words, but just barely. "I mean," she continued, "If I go home, would she stay the night here?"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The other Alex scoffed, "You don't need to speak about me like I'm not in the room. And besides," she stepped closer to the clone, "If anyone's going home it's me. You can stay overnight here."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Kara stepped between the two identical women before it could escalate further. Knowing her sister, Kara was convinced it wouldn't take long for an encounter like this to turn to blows. "Alex, both of you," she looked back and forth between the two as she spoke. "You both have equal claim to the apartment tonight, or for the foreseeable future, depending on how long it takes for this to get sorted out. What I recommend is that you learn to cope. Try to coexist a bit."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Coexist?!" The word came in stereo, both Alex erupting at once.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"That's so weird," Kara couldn't help herself but react with discomfort to the women speaking in perfect sync. "Anyway, yes, coexist. Both of you go home and try to be roommates for the evening. I can't see any other way to get through this without one of you conceding."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"I'm not conceding anything in my life," one Alex spoke, not taking a moment to think about the repercussions.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Me neither," the other made it clear.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Kara spoke calmly now. "So it's settled. You'll both go home for the evening, and we'll see you tomorrow. Right?"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Neither acknowledged the reality of what this meant, or the complexity of the situation before them. In complete silence, Kara escorted them both to get their things, then down to the garage to their shared car. Without sharing words, one Alex drove and one sat shotgun, before the two arrived home and made their way into the apartment. Neither knew how the evening would unfold.</p>
  <p> </p>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Well..."</p><p></p><div>
  <p>"Yeah..."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The two women both stood in the doorway of their apartment, both laying equal claim to the space, and both feeling as though this other woman — this other Alex Danvers — was an intruder that was impossible to comprehend.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Several long, anguishing seconds passed with the two women both standing in silence, neither one with a clue of how to share the living quarters for the evening. "Do you..." One Alex tried to mutter, before growing silent after realizing that small talk with oneself was utterly pointless and borderline narcissistic. They didn't have to get along, they just needed to last through the evening. Or, as Kara had plainly put it: <em>coexist</em>.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"It's only 8:00pm," the other Alex said, "And I'd like to shower, if that's okay with you."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Yeah, go right ahead," the first one answered. Actually, a shower would be great right about now, after the whole ordeal earlier at the DEO. "I'll go after you're finished."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>They both nodded, but avoided eye contact. Alex found herself in a feedback loop that made her awkwardness feel amplified ten-fold, like she was witnessing all her greatest flaws and insecurities up close. It felt uncomfortable sharing a space with this other woman — a stranger with her own face — and knowing that this clone shared that same resentment made the whole experience worse.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Wordlessly, one Alex took this sentiment into the shower, letting the water whisk away the grime from the day. When she emerged, the other Alex was waiting in their bedroom, sitting on the bed staring off into space.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Oh!" They both startled, as though forgetting about the unwelcome company for a split second. The showered Alex instinctively pulled her towel snug around her torso, ensuring that she was at least somewhat decent.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"I'm sorry," the other exclaimed, standing up from the bed. "I'm just...trying to process all of this, I didn't mean to intrude."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The other shook her head. "You shouldn't feel like you're intruding in your own bedroom, and besides," she looked down at the towel masking her body, "It's not like there's anything you haven't seen before."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>They laughed. It felt nice, and impossible. A brief moment of levity in a day wrought with tension and absurdity.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Anyway," the showered Alex continued, "The shower helped clear my mind, I'm sure you'll feel the same."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>With just a smile, one Alex made her way past her twin and into the steamy bathroom, leaving the other alone to get changed. After drying her hair, she grabbed some pajamas and made her way out into the kitchen, hoping to leave the other enough room to not encroach on her space. But again, she felt the feeling of unease sink back to the pit of her stomach. It was bizarre to feel like an intruder in one's own home, especially around a woman who shared the sentiment. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Out in the kitchen, the other Alex had decided that tonight certainly warranted a glass of wine. Normally a full bottle would be too much solo, but tonight... Well Alex was considering that she'd be in good company.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She had just started on her glass when the door to the bedroom opened, and out walked the clone, recently showered and dressed. With her wine in hand, Alex almost burst out laughing and spilled her glass — the clone had happened to don the very same outfit that Alex had: a long-sleeve grey tee and blue boxer shorts.It was quite possible the only outfit that Alex had multiple copies of, but it was her favorite.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Uncanny," she smiled, "But I guess great minds think alike."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The other Alex smirked, "You're telling me. I could totally go for a glass of wine right about now."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Already poured." Alex stepped out from the kitchen and handed her twin a glass, offering up a cheers before taking a sip. She couldn't help but remark and how astoundingly identical the two looked; it was so much more obvious now than at the DEO. They both stood in matching outfits, with matching damp hair, taking sips from identical wine cups.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>It was eerie, and yet, Alex didn't feel as disturbed by the phenomenon as she had just moments earlier. For the first time, she found herself in a moment of comfort knowing that this other woman wouldn't – couldn't – surprise her in any way. To be frank, she was more curious than anything else. She wondered...</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"It doesn't weird me out," she spoke preemptively, assuming that her double was actually pondering the very same ideas in her identical head. "If you want to take a closer look. I'm a bit curious too."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The twin just nodded and placed her wine glass down on the table before the two took a few steps closer together. They studied each other's faces, albeit from a close distance, before giving each other slow twirls and letting themselves observe their bodies from new and obscure angles. "It's just...so bizarre, you know?"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The game didn't feel invasive, like Alex may have feared, or at all vain or narcissistic. It was amazingly innocent — guiding each other mostly wordlessly through a bit of coy, sweet, genuinely curious self-exploration. Almost as though there was just one Alex, one mind, but split into two locations.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>And in truth, it was nice to know that when these walls came down, she enjoyed this other person.  When one Alex smiled, the other complimented her, and the two laughed together before reaching for more wine.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"It is really nice to, you know..." She searched for the right words and shrugged. "Knowing that I get along with myself. Instead of all the bickering earlier. I'm sorry about that."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Me too," the twin smiled. "Come on, let's sit down for a bit. And bring the bottle."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>It wasn't like talking with Kara, or with any of her other friends or partners over the years. The conversation was light, easy, and most bizarrely...happy. Alex liked having a moment to connect with herself, as uncanny as that sounded. Soon one bottle was downed and the next had been opened, as the mirrored women continued to vent about their lives, their past, and their futures.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"I hate to say it," Alex said through a grin, topping off her twin's glass, "And I know it makes me sound vain, but this evening hasn't been half bad."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>They brought their glasses together in a crisp <em>clink</em>. "Right back at you, Alex Danvers." She could feel herself getting tipsy, letting those words linger just a moment too long on her lips. It was weird, saying her own name. "So what do you think is going on at the DEO right now?"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"J'onn is probably dissecting any remnants of the bomb," she shrugged, "And Kara is probably freaking out. I know she trusts us but the way she looked at the two of us earlier, I bet she thinks we'd be clawing each other's eyes out by now."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The two women scoffed at the thought, each pausing before taking a drink and mulling on the idea. "I mean," one started, "I can't really blame her. We didn't get along at first."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Yeah but," leaping to her own defense, Alex continued. "Kara knows us better than anyone, would she really think we're <em>that hard</em> to get along with?"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Silence. Two more sips of wine.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Alex didn't want to eagerly admit it, even to herself, but that had been a growing fear of hers over the recent months being single. She had worried that her personality was caustic; that her attitude could come across as brash and hurtful, and in truth, make it hard to form connections with people not already deeply trusted after years of friendship.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>And it sucked to face that reality head-on. Maybe Kara was concerned for Alex to meet herself and see first-hand how despicable she really was.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Well, she was wrong," one Alex spoke after a few long moments, both Alex's lost in thought. She was answering a wordless, silent question the two had been certain the other shared in their mirrored mind.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The other nodded. "Because, clearly," they put together the dots, side by side, "We're perfectly likable. We can see that right now, first-hand."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The two turned to look at each other now, with eyes on the precipice of tearing up, but both with matching, earnest smiles to share. "Right, and honestly, we're probably the only person on Earth who can know for certain that they get along with themselves."</p>
  <p>Alex reached out to place her hand on the other woman's bare knee. They were connected, these two bodies, with every ounce of the same emotion and memory up until just a few hours ago — and yet, she realized, they bordered on strangers before tonight. Alex had never shared a word with herself, or shared a drink, or shared anything other than the deepest thoughts kept locked in her mind. It was nice to feel open, for once, and she welcomed the reaffirming warmth the encounter was able to introduce to them both.</p>
</div>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Alex sat for a few moments like that, still and soothing, her hand rested sweetly on the knee of her double — before the two realized, quite instantly, that despite their closeness these past few hours they had never actually touched physically. The two jumped, just slightly, almost expecting them to implode after breaking some unspoken rule of molecular physics... But they were fine.</p><p></p><div>
  <p>And the two laughed. It felt good.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"So, I suppose in truth, this whole 'cloning' experience was probably for the best." Alex took another sip of wine and realized she had found the bottom of her glass. Had two bottles really disappeared so quickly? It was at that moment that she realized her looseness over the last hour — and possibly the broad lack of inhibitions that her clone was displaying as well. Maybe they were both tipsier than either had realized.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Honestly, yeah it's been pretty okay," the other responded. "I mean, it's nice to feel like we can put to rest some of our crippling insecurities."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Yeah, where to begin?" With no more wine to use as a distraction, Alex leaned forward to rest the empty glass on the table. Shifting her weight back onto the couch, she let herself settle effortlessly close to the other Alex, who welcomed her warmly into a cozy embrace.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"I'm not sure why though," she continued, undeniably feeling the buzz of the wine now. "I mean, seeing you from my angle, there's no reason to be insecure."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The other laughed and killed the last drops of wine of her own. "Right, so, all problems solved instantly?" She joked, feigned a bit of sass and shimmying just a bit to let the other Alex know it was all in jest.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Alex teased back, "Ha, you know what I mean. We can actually drill deep into the things we don't like about ourself and prove once and for all that they're just in our heads. For good. Wouldn't that be amazing?"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Well, we've already learned we're not a despicable human, so cross that off the list. What's next?"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>They laughed, knowing full well their shared list of great insecurities. Where to even begin.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"I mean..." One Alex rolled her eyes, "It's not fun to admit them out loud, but I know what you're thinking. I'd be happy to let you see it from a new angle if you're as curious as I am."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The other, bizarrely enough, wasn't following. "I beg your pardon?"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>With that, the first Alex whipped around, smile on her face. "You mean, for once we're not on the same page? Alex Danvers, I thought better of you!" They were blushing now, both of them.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"I'm serious, I've got no idea what you're talking about. What 'new angle' are you getting at?"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>It was an awkward pause, but she was giggling. "My ass, you dummy. Do you want to check it out or not?"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"What!?" Alex nearly choked. "Where on Earth did that come from?" She had thought for years, maybe decades, that her backside was her weakest physical trait — that much was undeniable. Still, she was blindsided how bluntly it came up in discussion. Apparently her double wasn't sharing that same reservation.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Don't lie to yourself," the other Alex stood up from the couch now, standing over her twin indignantly. "We're talking about insecurities and you and I both know our butt is, like, number one on that list."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Yeah, but..." Alex couldn't deny it. "Still I don't think I'd jump so cavalierly to the tippy top of the list."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The other crossed her arms. "Why the hell not?"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"It's just..." She was at a loss for words. "Look I admire your enthusiasm, I'll give you that."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Well admire this instead!" Alex turned herself around and tugged up the hem of her shirt, swaying her ass clad in blue boxer shorts in front of the clone seated beneath, flabbergasted by the display and raising up her hands to shield her eyes.</p>
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  <p>"Oh my god stop!" The words barely came through the laughter.</p>
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  <p>The other Alex kept rocking back and forth. "Look, I know we're both sensitive when it comes to our body and I want to know the truth, how to I look?" They were both laughing now, almost uncontrollably.</p>
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  <p>"Fine, fine, hold your horses." The Alex on the couch was having fun, she couldn't deny that, and it was emboldening to see her double flout around a body with such goofy confidence. "In all honesty, you look good."</p>
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  <p>"Don't just look, cop a feel! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, Danvers."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Alex would probably have wished she took this situation with a bit more hesitance, but perhaps it was the wine or her disarmingly goofy personality that led her to raise two hands up quickly and take a full grip of the buttocks before her.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"And the verdict is...?" Alex was having a blast teasing and provoking the clone, but with her ass flaunting now in the — literal — hands of her double, the silence was a bit unnerving. "C'mon, Alex. Say something. Is it really that bad?"</p>
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  <p>"Bad? No..." The words came slowly from the Alex on the couch. "Honestly, I'm loving this."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Haha, what?!"</p>
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  <p>"Seriously," Alex let her hands take another firm grasp. Her fingers traced down to her clone's upper thighs, then back up again to the waistline. "It's, like, perfect. Absolutely incredibly toned. I had no freaking idea."</p>
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  <p>Alex spun around. "You're kidding—"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"I'm not done!" Alex twisted her clone back into position, her ass returning into view to be felt up a bit further. "I can't imagine I was actually self-conscious of this. Picture perfect. It's the best I've ever seen up close."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Alex — the one standing — knew how remarkable that compliment was. Some of her hookups over the years had had absolutely dynamite physiques. It seemed like complete balderdash to muse that her own was at the top of the list. "I don't believe you." Her tone was serious now. If this revelation were truthful, it would rock Alex's entire universe to its core. She had assumed for years that her ass was her weakest feature — it was with sheer disbelief that she was now being told otherwise, and from her own clone no less.</p>
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  <p>"Here, if you won't believe me, take a look yourself." The clone then stood up beside Alex and gestured for her to sit, which she willingly did, before spinning around and brandishing an identical backside for her own showcase.</p>
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  <p>Fingers danced idly over the skin and cloth. "Oh fuck."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Yeah."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"It's amazing."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Yeah."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"This is so weird."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Don't care."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>It seemed like an inordinate amount of time that Alex sat there, closely examining the tone of her own backside, but she couldn't seem to pull herself away from the clone. "I'm sorry, this doesn't really need to be said, but I feel so idiotic that for all these years I felt bashful about my body." She was shaking her head, not that the clone could see at the moment. "Like, I've got a hot ass. A really, really hot ass. What the fuck was I thinking?"</p>
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  <p>"Well, again, count this in the checkbox for why cloning isn't a bad thing." Alex really didn't mind getting poked and prodded for all this time, after all, she had started with the prodding to begin with. Finally she felt it was time to turn around, forcing the other Alex to look her in the face rather than ogle at her ass even further. "Had enough, Danvers?" </p>
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  <p>She laughed. The inflection from her clone was both genuine and a perfect self-parody. "I can't believe it."</p>
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  <p>The other Alex gave a coy smile. "What is it?"</p>
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  <p>The seated Alex hadn't withdrawn her hands when her clone had spun around to look her in the face, so her hands still rested idly on the standing woman's waistline, idly flitting with the cloth of her blue boxer shorts. Looking up at her double, smiling with more self-confidence than Alex ever had in her whole lifetime, Alex let her gaze drift a bit over the woman's body. From her matching eyes, down her jawline, even lingering a bit on her chest before landing on the hem of her shorts where her hands toyed with the fabric.</p>
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  <p>"What is it?" Alex asked again, trying to break her twin from her trance.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"I..." the seated Alex stammered, the words she wanted to utter felt heavy and weird in her mind. She didn't want to speak anything aloud that she'd regret, but Alex knew it would slip out eventually. Why fight it? "I think... I'm hot."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The other Alex blurted a short laugh and averted her gaze, playfully deflecting the compliment. "Yeah, I've been coming to that conclusion too."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"No, Alex," her tone was flat, serious, and convincing. The other, standing woman dropped the act. "I mean, really. Like, if I saw you — and I wasn't me — and you weren't me — I think I'd find you really hot." The sentence was unnatural, strung together like a jumble of fragments, but the other woman followed. The realization seemed to dawn on them both at the same time, and in an instant, the closeness of their bodies felt impossible to ignore any longer. One Alex was standing in a near-straddle above her clone, seated beneath her, hands resting on hips. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>After a still few moments, the standing Alex smiled. "I see it too," was all she said. The woman shifted her weight slightly, paying close attention to how the hands of the clone rested on her hips. She was happy to feel that the other Alex's touch didn't retreat. If anything, she held onto her waist tighter.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"So," Alex's breath caught in her throat, but she wanted to ask anyway. "You're attracted to me?"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"I am. Or, I would be. If you weren't me."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"If you weren't me."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>She parroted the words coming from her clone's lips, as if lingering on the connotation. <em>If you weren't me</em>. Was she? Were they one in the same, or did this cloning event split her into two separate, free-thinking people? How much of their identity did these women truly share?</p>
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  <p>"You're cute when you think about existential crises," the standing Alex smiled, reaching up to brush a hair out of the face of her seated twin. "Our nose wrinkles up. It's easy to see that you're doing mental gymnastics to figure this whole thing out."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>The clone blushed, "Is it that obvious that I'm struggling here?"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Standing Alex nodded. Her hand lingered on the chin of her twin. "And I agree, by the way. I'm attracted to you too. I wouldn't want you to think this feeling — as confusing as it might be — isn't something we share."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"It's not like that helps," Alex sighed. She brought a hand up to pull her clone's down from aside her face. The rush of emotions from the contact was clouding her judgement. "I just... I don't know what to do in this situation."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Me neither," the other Alex whispered.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"And," she stared straight forward at the waistline of the woman standing above her, as if somewhere in the hem of her twinned boxer shorts lay the answer. "I don't know what's okay for me to think."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>And again, the whisper of support. "Me neither."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>In that brief moment to follow, Alex felt two things rush through her mind — and she was certain her clone was experiencing the same internal narrative. She reflected back on the past day, starting with the explosion of the device at the DEO and the creation of this alien simulacrum of herself, and up through to her revelations in this moment: that she found herself beautiful and desirable. She wondered what it would be like to touch more of her. To feel the skin beneath her clothes, so familiar yet so foreign. Alex felt as if there was a line that the two of them were both about to cross, together — a switch from playful self-confidence into something much more impossible and ill-advised.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>And while this was pouring through their minds, one Alex took a step forward, bringing her knees up onto the sofa to straddle the clone beneath her. The seated Alex shifted her weight back, and used her hands to guide her double's hips into place. She could feel the close contact of the clone's thighs as they found a home resting on hers. The distance between their faces closed to mere inches.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Alex — both of her — wanted the other woman to lean in and kiss her, but she was terrified to take the first step into forbidden territory. She felt perverted to look upon her own face, one she'd seen in the mirror since birth, and find it sexually alluring, but it wasn't a feeling she felt like willingly dismissing any further. Her heart ached for it, and yet she sat frozen — her only movement the heavy up and down of her chest as her breath raced. The two were paused in a stalemate, feeling the heat of the other woman's matching body, paralyzed with uncertainty.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"We're two consenting adults," one offered.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"Yeah," the other countered, not breaking their intense eye contact, "Who split two bottles of wine. Our judgement here might be skewed."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"If you're saying that we should stop —"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"—No definitely not," she interrupted. "I didn't say that. But if you're so in favor of it —"</p>
</div><div>
  <p>"—I didn't say that," the other cut her off. "I'm just trying to weigh our options here."</p>
</div><div>
  <p>They both smiled. "Alex Danvers, always so pragmatic." She tightened her grip on the sides of the other Alex, and could feel her clone shift her weight again, causing another tease of friction between them. She caught herself staring at the clone's lips.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>Alex wasn't quite sure what followed next. Maybe it was the blood rushing to her head, or maybe it was the wine fully taking effect. She didn't know which body spoke the first words — she was only certain that one woman, one Alex, had said "Kiss me," and the other had replied "Okay."</p>
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